Even as the Assembly elections in Punjab are more than six months away, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has begun reshuffling halqa in-charges, replacing incumbents to improve its prospects. The exercise has started with two reserved seats in the Doaba region — Phagwara and Phillaur — amid reports that around 30 halqa in-charges may be changed across the state.
Appointments in Phagwara and Phillaur
From Phagwara, sitting Hoshiarpur MP Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal is set to contest the Assembly poll. A Ravidassia, he replaced Majbhi Sikh leader Harnoor Harji Mann about 10 days back. Dr Chabbewal has been given the charge of Phagwara well ahead of time so that he can work at the micro-level in the area and change the fortunes in favour of AAP. In Phagwara, Congress MLA Balwinder S Dhaliwal has been a two-time MLA.
Just three days ago, AAP appointed Harjot Kaur Lohtia from Banga as halqa in-charge of Phillaur. She has replaced Principal Prem Kumar, who had unsuccessfully contested from Phillaur in 2022. Lohtia had contested from Banga in 2017. Since the party clearly intends to give a ticket to Dr Sukwinder Kumar Sukhi, the sitting Banga MLA who switched from SAD to AAP, it chose to shift Lohtia to Phillaur so that she gets suitable time to shed the outsider tag.
Lohtia's Activities in Phillaur
In Phillaur, Lohtia has been daily raking up issues, including those of illegal sand mining. She has also been mobilising a campaign against the rampant drug problem in the area. If made to contest, she will also be the first woman candidate to contest elections from Phillaur.
Other Parties' Moves
Like AAP, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) too has been appointing new halqa in-charges in Doaba for the past two months. It appointed Sukhdeep Singh Sukar from Nawanshahr, former Jalandhar MP Mahinder S Kaypee from Kartarpur, and singer KS Makhan from Nakodar. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also recently appointed some halqa in-charges, with Balwinder Kumar getting the charge of Adampur.
